Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, blames "Americans and Zionists" for the recent protests. The Shiite Muslim hard-liner says money supporting the citizens came from "one of the filthy-rich governments of the Persian Gulf." (Associated Press/File) Iran’s rulers have inflicted death by torture and gunfire on citizen protesters in a crackdown since the Dec. 28 street uprising erupted, the main opposition group said Tuesday. The Europe-based National Council of Resistance of Iran says the Islamic republic’s ubiquitous security apparatus has arrested more than 8,000 citizens and killed at least 50, all while the West has remained mostly silent. The...

RUSH; Big news from the Middle East about the Iran deal. It turns out that we were negotiating with the Iranians before Kerry was secretary of state. We were negotiating with the Iranians before the election of the "moderate" Rouhani. We were negotiating an Iranian nuke deal with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when nobody knew what was happening. The Regime was telling us that they couldn't do anything 'cause Ahmadinejad was such a radical extremist goofball. We had to wait for a "moderate" to win, which was Rouhani, and after he did, that's when we got serious. It turns out none of...

Among the documents related to former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, released by the CIA, is a letter reportedly sent by his daughter Eman to Iranian leader Ali Khamenei. (excerpt) Another document, sent by al-Haj Osman (as he called himself) to Maulawi Azmari, a prominent al-Qaeda leader, sheds light on Iran’s support for al-Qaeda operatives. This finds mention in Bin Laden’s correspondence and reveals his role as the link between Iranian intelligence and al-Qaeda. In the letter, Osman mentions the details of the return of some elements of the organization to Iran to collect funds and fighters and to communicate...

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei used his English-language Twitter account on Wednesday to declare, “If the U.S. has any power, they better manage their country, tackle white supremacy rather than meddle in nations’ affairs.” Khamenei linked this comment to the Twitter hashtags for #WhiteSupremacy and #Charlottesville. He included a photo of indeterminate origin showing a younger version of himself holding a black child, which is presumably supposed to demonstrate his superior racial sensitivity. To its credit, the Washington Post was sharply skeptical of the tweet, noting that Khamenei routinely seeks to exploit American crimes and tragedies for political advantage....

Oct 13,2008 The Nation -- The elections in Iran are nearly a year away, but it's encouraging to see the emerging possibility of a new bid for the presidency by former President Mohammad Khatami. Last week, he hinted that he's considering running against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the nutball whose support lies mainly in the paramilitary Basij force and elements of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Can Khatami ju-jitsu the all-powerful Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei and his election-rigging Guardian Council? Can Khatami loom so large that even Khamenei might choose to support him over Ahmadinejad? Might Khamenei decide to back Khatami as...

“I do not fear Trump. We must thank the new American president because he showed the real face of America and because he exposed what we have been saying for decades about the political, moral and economic corruption in it.” This is the recent statement made by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei against the newly-elected US administration. Yes, we’re passing through a new phase. There has been a major transformation following the reactive years of isolationism which show the depth of the roots that America has returned to in terms of engaging with world crises and contributing to managing...

Khamenei ally says useless for U.S. to threaten Iran over missile test: Fars Reuters By Parisa Hafezi ReutersFebruary 2, 2017 By Parisa Hafezi ANKARA (Reuters) - A top adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday Iran will not yield to "useless" U.S. threats from "an inexperienced person" over its ballistic missile program. U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, said on Wednesday the United States was putting Iran on notice over its "destabilizing activity" after it test-fired a ballistic missile. Trump echoed that language on Thursday, saying in a tweet "Iran has been put formally...

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has harshly criticized U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s recent comments about Iran posing a threat to the region. In remarks published on his website Saturday, Khamenei called the U.K. “a source of evil and misery for the peoples of the region” for the past two centuries. …

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday accused the United States — the “great Satan” — and its “little demons” in the region of creating crises like those in Syria and Iraq, to divert attention away from the issue of “Palestine.” Khamenei, echoing a statement made in a speech last year, also told a visiting Palestinian terrorist leader that if Muslims act, Israel will no longer exist in 25 years’ time. […] The Syrian civil war, with largely Shi’a forces arrayed against Sunni ones, has fueled sectarianism across the region, exacerbated by the rise of ISIS in Syria and...

Two world leaders who are among Washington’s most outspoken critics met in Tehran at the weekend and discussed whether the United States is unbeatable. Also on their minds — the two candidates running for the White House. “Some people think that America is invincible, while this notion is a big error,” Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. “Frequent mistakes made by Americans during the past 15 years have caused them to seriously run aground in the region and be hopeless now,” he added. “Steadfastness and rational resistance combined with foresight in the face of pressures...

The U.S. presidential campaign and issues raised by nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are evidence that “spirituality and faith are lacking among those in power” in America, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared on Wednesday. Speaking to university students, Khamenei addressed what an official website paraphrased as “the difficulties and problems perplexing mankind today, and the dead-ends that materialistic thought patterns sustain.” He told his audience, “The campaigns held during presidential elections in the U.S. and the worries conveyed by the two candidates are a clear example that spirituality and faith are lacking among those in power.” …

The following are excerpts from the televised confessions of Muayed Al-Nasseri, who commanded Saddam Hussein's "Army of Muhammad" throughout 2004. The confessions were aired by an Iraqi TV channel that operates from the UAE, Al-Fayhaa TV, and were monitored and translated by the MEMRI TV Project. The following are excerpts; to view the clip, visit http://memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=492: [1] 'The Army of Muhammad was Founded by Saddam Hussein After the Fall of the Regime' Interrogator: "What is your name?" Muayed Al-Nasseri: "Colonel Muayed Yassin 'Aziz 'Abd Al-Razaq Al-Nasseri, commander of the Army of Muhammad, one of the resistance factions in Iraq. The...

Iran’s Supreme Leader has accused the U.S. of creating and supporting ISIS as a means of creating conflict among Muslims and promoting a false form of Islam in the world. In an English language Twitter account affiliated with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the country’s highest authority, tweeted: US aim of making & backing DAESH is to sow discord in Islamic Ummah, defame true Islam & promote Wahabbi Islam which is far from true Islam.

One year after they signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, popularly known as the Iran deal, the Iranians are secretly attempting to procure illicit nuclear technology and equipment. So says Germany’s domestic intelligence agency. It appears the mullahs are supremely confident that America and the West will do nothing to enforce the agreement. Looking back on the Iran nuclear deal and the singular role Iran’s American lobby, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), played in the formulation and promotion of the agreement, it’s clear that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s past experience with President Obama has given him...

Why Khamenei wants the next Supreme Leader to be ‘revolutionary’ Friday, 24 June 2016 Surprisingly, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has begun raising the issue of Iran’s next supreme leader in some of his speeches. /snip In a recent meeting, the 76-year-old Ayatollah met with some members of the Assembly of Experts, and pointed out that “a supreme leader has to be a revolutionary” and he advised that members not to “be bashful” in selecting the next supreme leader. Iran’s constitution grants the Supreme Leader with the highest authority in the country. The Supreme Leader is the single most...

Ahmad Jannati has been chosen to lead Iran’s new assembly of experts, the body which oversees the work of the country’s supreme leader and will elect his successor. Jannati was voted chairman of the 88-member Assembly with 51 votes. The 90-year-old is said to be dismissive of President Hassan Rouhani and his attempts to end Iran’s global isolation by normalizing ties with the West. He is also the leader of the Guardian Council, a hardline vetting body that disqualified thousands of reformists from standing in February’s elections for the assembly and parliament. …

Revolutionary Guards Quds Force's notorious chief Qassem Suleimani severely injured in clashes south of Aleppo For nearly 5 years the Revolutionary Guards Quds Forceâ€™s notorious chief Qassem Suleimani has been spearheading Iranâ€™s full-pledged support for the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. This shadowy figure has been the symbol of Tehranâ€™s infamous plots in Syria, and reports have also indicated Suleimani was running the show and issuing orders to senior Syrian generals and political officials, and at times, even Assad himself. Enjoying the full support of and reporting only to Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, Suleimani had unimaginable authority in Syria. That...

We hope Sens. Chuck Schumer, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand are giving that devastating new profile of resident Obama’s foreign-policy guru a careful read. Because they’ll learn how they were all played for fools on the Iran nuclear deal by that aide, Ben Rhodes — and the resident. That applies especially to Schumer, who will be the Senate Democratic leader come January. Booker and Gillibrand hewed to the party line in backing the deal. Schumer gave it a thumb’s-down — but then refused to lobby his colleagues to take his side. Sen. Bob Menendez, on the other hand, is looking...

It's a great time to be a despotic tyrant who threatens your neighbors. And as Khamenei knows, to be quite open about it. Who's going to do anything? Who would be enough of a fool to think that anyone with real power in Iran thought otherwise? Oh. Right. As always, beware of media characterizations that pretend this or that Iranian official is “moderate” or “more moderate” or whatever. They’re grading on a pretty radical curve when they tell you that, but it’s irrelevant at any rate. Only the mullahas have real power in Iran, and lest you have any doubt...